The recent killing of approximately 200 Christians in Nigeria has triggered widespread condemnation, with one international aid organization describing it as the “worst killing spree” in the region to date.

heavily armed Fulani militants targeted Christian residents in Yelwata,a farming village within Guma County,Benue State,over a period of two days.

Micheel Odeh James with Truth Nigeria told CBN News that Benue State is a predominantly Christian community, and Yelwata was a settlement for Internally displaced Persons (IDPs) or people who fled previous Fulani militant attacks in neighboring towns.

“We are about 6 to 7 million Nigerians living in Benue, and over 97% of them are Christians.They are Baptist, they are Methodists, they are Catholics.Militants set fire to their buildings as people slept,and attacked with machetes anyone who tried to flee,” James recounted.

He described the scene as a horrific “genocidal massacre.”

“(It was) not just slaughtering, not just macheting, (but) they locked some people up…and then doused them with gasoline and then set them ablaze,” he described. “Babies were burned.”

According to a report given to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), police managed to halt the assailants in one location as they attempted to invade St. Joseph’s Church in Yelewata, where 700 people were seeking refuge. The militants then redirected their assault towards the town’s market square,where they allegedly used fuel to ignite the entrances of the displaced individuals’ accommodations before opening fire on an area where over 500 people were sleeping.

Details of the Attack

“(It was) not just slaughtering,not just macheting,(but) they locked some people up…and then doused them with gasoline and then set them ablaze.”

A local clergy member informed ACN that the three-hour rampage resulted in the deaths of 200 individuals.

An eyewitness told Genocide Watch that 40 gunmen stormed the village on motorcycles in pairs, shouting “Allahu Akbar,” and firing at people indiscriminately.

“They came from Rukubi in Doma, Keana, Obi, and other counties in Nasarawa State,” said Mton Matthias, a local youth leader. “They surrounded Yelwata, speaking Hausa and Fufulde, and began slaughtering people-mostly women, children, and displaced families who thought they had found safety here.”

“We’re still finding bodies in the bushes,” he added. “The death toll is rising every hour.”

James told CBN News,”christians are being slaughtered in a gruesome manner in Nigeria’s middle belt where Christians predominate,and regrettably,nothing is happening (to protect them).”

the spokesperson with Truth nigeria says the attack in Nigeria’s Middle Belt is not being widely publicized for political reasons.

“The previous government that’s under Muhammad Buhari, who is a Fulani man, passed the killings off as ‘farmers clash,’ but when we defined it as ‘genocidal killing prompted by land grabbing,’ they get angry. So they started suppressing the press from carrying out the report of these killings.”

“A new president has come and he has (only) liberalized the space and that is why you can see to some measurable degree the media are carrying it halfheartedly,” james added.

Motives and Implications

Rev.Fr.Remigius Ihyula,Director of Makurdi’s Justice,Peace and Development Foundation (JPDF),agrees and told Genocide Watch that the violence against Christians in the region is not random.

“These Fulani militias are not just killing-they’re clearing land to claim it,” he said.”And they’re being allowed to do it.”

though, faithful believers are spreading the tragic news and asking for international help, warning the jihadist militants are ethnically cleansing the region of its Christian presence.

“Some families were completely wiped out,” Matthew Mnyam, a community leader in Yelwata, told International Christian concern (ICC). “A man, his two wives, and all their children were burned alive. It was a well-coordinated assault from both eastern and western flanks of the community.”

Faith leaders in the United States are responding and some are calling the U.S. State Department to redesignate Nigeria as a country of particular concern (CPC).

A CPC is defined as a country “engaged in” or tolerating “especially severe violations of religious freedom.”

“America must use its influence to protect Christians and others being targeted by Islamists,” said Family Research Council President tony Perkins. “The U.S. government should redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern and sanction the Nigerian government.”

Faith leaders are asking believers around the world to pray for Christians in Nigeria.

“The massacre of up to 200 Christians in Yelewata, Nigeria, is a heartbreaking reminder of the suffering our brothers and sisters endure for their faith,” said Brian Orme, president and CEO of Global Christian Relief.

“We grieve with the families and stand with the nigerian church as they persevere in hope. Now is the time for the global body of Christ to unite in prayer and action-making it clear that our persecuted family is not alone,” he added.

Nigeria currently ranks as the seventh worst place in the world for Christians, according to open Doors’ World Watch List.